DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, species B, claims 7-11 and new claims 21-26, in the reply filed on 2/3/26 is acknowledged.
Claims 12-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention/species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 2/3/26.
Applicant’s cancellation of non-elected claims 1-6 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 7, 8, 10, 11 21, 22, 24 and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang et al., CN 108878529 B (see attached English machine translation).
Zhang anticipates:
7. A method, comprising (see fig. 3):
forming a fin structure (301) above a substrate (300) of a semiconductor device;
forming a dummy gate structure (304) that wraps around the fin structure on at least three sides of the fin structure;
forming a sidewall protection layer (307) on a sidewall spacer layer (306) of the dummy gate structure;
removing a portion of the fin structure adjacent to the dummy gate structure to form a source/drain recess (301b),
wherein the sidewall protection layer (307) resists etching of the fin structure under the sidewall spacer layer; and
forming a source/drain region (308) in the source/drain recess. See Zhang at English machine translation pages 9-19, figs. 1-4.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: forming an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer (310) over the source/drain region (308) and over the sidewall protection layer (7), fig. 3F.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein removing the portion of the fin structure adjacent to the dummy gate structure comprises:
removing a second portion of the fin structure (301)adjacent to the dummy gate structure (304) to increase a depth of the source/drain recess (301b) from a first depth (e.g. depth of h1 in fig. 3C) to a second depth (e.g. depth of 301b in fig. 3D); and
wherein the method further comprises:
removing a first portion of the fin structure (301) adjacent to the dummy gate structure to form the source/drain recess (301a) to the first depth (e.g. depth of h1 in fig. 3C)
11. The method of claim 10, wherein removing the first portion of the fin structure adjacent to the dummy gate structure to form the source/drain recess to the first depth comprises:
removing, prior to formation of the sidewall protection layer (307), the first portion of the fin structure (301) adjacent to the dummy gate structure (304) to form the source/drain recess (301a) to the first depth (e.g. depth of h1 in fig. 3C).
21. A method, comprising (see fig. 3):
forming a fin structure (301) above a substrate (300) of a semiconductor device;
forming a dummy gate structure (304) on the fin structure; forming a sidewall spacer layer (306) on the dummy gate structure;
forming a sidewall protection layer (307) on the sidewall spacer layer, wherein the sidewall protection layer (307) extends below a bottom surface of a portion of the dummy gate structure (304) that is on the fin structure;
removing a portion of the fin structure adjacent to the dummy gate structure to form a source/drain recess (301b); and
forming a source/drain region (308) in the source/drain recess. See Zhang at English machine translation pages 9-19, figs. 1-4.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the sidewall protection layer (307) extends below the bottom surface of the dummy gate structure by greater than 0% to approximately 50% of a depth of the source/drain region (e.g. depth of h1+thickness of 303), fig. 3C.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein the sidewall protection layer comprises silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon nitride (SixNy), silicon carbonitride (SiCN), silicon oxynitride (SiON), or silicon oxycarbonitride (SiOCN), page 13.
Regarding claim 25:
Zhang teaches the limitations as applied to claim 8 above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 9, 23, and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang, as applied to claims and 21 above.
Regarding claim 9:
Zhang teaches all the limitations of claim 1 above and further teaches:
9. The method of claim 7, wherein forming the sidewall protection layer comprises:
forming the sidewall protection layer (307) on a top surface of the dummy gate structure and on a top surface of the portion of the fin structure (e.g. page 13),
wherein the sidewall protection layer (307) is removed from the top surface of the dummy gate structure (304) and from the top surface of the portion of the fin structure (301)… (e.g. page 13),
wherein the sidewall protection layer (307) is retained on the sidewall spacer layer (306) of the dummy gate structure (304) after removal of the portion of the fin structure (301) (e.g. page 14, fig. 3D).
Zhang teaches the sidewall protection layer is patterned/removed in a separate step before removing the portion of the fin structure.
Zhang does not expressly teach the sidewall protection layer is removed in an integral step when removing the portion of the fin structure.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in to perform “wherein the sidewall protection layer is removed…when removing the portion of the fin structure”, since forming in one piece (e.g. one, integral step) an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces (e.g. two, separate steps) and put together involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04, Legal Precedent as Source of Supporting Rationale, V. Making Portable, Integral, Separable, Adjustable or Continuous.
Regarding claim 23:
Zhang teaches all the limitations of claim 21, and further teaches the sidewall protection layer comprises silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and silicon oxynitride, page 13.
Zhang does not expressly teach wherein the sidewall protection layer comprises a polymer material.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to form the sidewall protection layer comprises a polymer material, since it is ithin the general skill of a worker in the art to select known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended purpose as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. See MPEP § 2144.07, Art Recognized Suitability for an Intended Purpose.
Regarding claim 26:
Zhang teaches the fin structure is removed using a dry etching process or by dry etching combined with wet etching process at page 14.
Zhang is silent the dry etching process is an anisotropic etch.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to perform
“wherein the portion of the fin structure is removed using an anisotropic etch technique” because Zhang teaches an “anisotropic dry etching process” at page 10.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michele Fan whose telephone number is 571-270-7401. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F from 7:30 am to 4 pm.
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/Michele Fan/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
5 May 2026
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